A Fresh Look On Music and Pop Culture

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Ariana Grande has been sharing her favorite songs from her albums, including her current album Sweetner. When a fan asked her what her favorite songs are off Sweetner, she shared this tweet below.

okay omg ……….
so currently i’m in this world
r.e.m.
borderline
pete davidson
better off
goodnight n go
…. but it changes a lot .. borderline & everytime i go back n forth between in this top five https://t.co/5pRV1zMTB2

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When thinking about your New Year’s Resolutions, you might think about becoming more organized or being more productive. But you should consider your musical goals as well. Want to finally go to a festival or build a vinyl collection? Want to stop listening to the same old artists and music? Here are some tips for reaching these totally attainable goals.

Go To A Festival

People always feel left out when they see people on Instagram posting from music festivals, but you can definitely be apart of it too. Cost wise, festivals are actually a pretty good deal. For the large amount of acts you see, the price per show is pretty low, especially since some concerts are already $100+. Some things to keep in mind when picking a festival.

Pick a festival near you or a friend: No need to add costs with airline flights and hotel rooms. With so many festivals, you can find one pretty close to you. Especially since many acts play several different festivals, many people who will be at Coachella will be at other festivals.

Think of a price you are comfortable with: Prices from festivals can vary a lot. Some of the cheaper ones are Jay Z’s Made In America and Pitchfork Music Festival. Still incredible acts, but you can get early bird tickets for this year’s Pitchfork for $150 for three days or $65 for a single day now.

Consider one day passes or buy closer to festival date: One day passes are cheaper, and some times you only want to see acts that are on one particular day. You can also save money by buying tickets closer to the date on Stubhub or other sites because many people’s plans change. Of course there is always a risk in that. It’s best to register to tickets in front of the seller before buying it to make sure they are authentic if possible.

Bonus tip: When buying tickets, avoid the pay plan. I tried to do the with Lolla last year and it wouldn’t go through and I lost my place in line. Its glitchy for some reason. Just pay for it out front. Worst case scenario you can resale.

2. Collect Vinyl

While people always talk about collecting vinyl, it seems like a large investment and task. It is not really when you break it down.

Buy albums you already like: No need to roll the dice when investing money and space on vinyl. Buy some of your favorite albums that you would spin often.

Buy on sale: You can find a lot of vinyl on sale at Urban Outfitters and other places. Easy way to collect when you find some for $10.

Buy a frame when you buy an album: Instead of having another task that will take forever to get around to, just purchase it as the same time you buy the vinyl and hang it up then.

3. Listen To New Music

I think its super easy to get stuck into the music you like without spreading out and discovering new music. Its pretty easy if you are just conscious of your music habits and making small changes.

Actually listen to Spotify Discover and other playlist: Just have it as background noise when you are doing something else. Its a good way to be efficient and pick up on new music that piques your interest.

Listen to new music highlights from different websites: Pigeons and Planes and Pitchfork usually put together new music and artists list each week. Just listen to it once you see it and don’t put it off.

Basically the best way to get anything done is to just do it! By taking a chance, you can have great musical experiences this year and expand your sonic horizons.

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I have a record player, and its one of those things that’s cool to have as a music lover. Sometimes when I’m looking to expand my record collection, I ask myself “why would I buy this when I could just stream this and that doesn’t take up physical space?” Completely understandable question. When I do invest in records, I look for records with interesting cover art that I would would to hang up, vinyl that looks cool and albums that I want to listen to front to back (skipping songs isn’t the easiest thing in the world on a record player). Here is some vinyl available now that you should check out if you are interested in expanding or starting your collection.

This is an amazing album front to back and one of my favorite album of this year. I like that the album title isn’t huge on this cover and just written on the comb. It’s able to blend in a a picture. I also like the lucite vinyl.

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Getting ready for the big fest this weekend Lollapalooza has released its merchandise for the 2017 fest.

There are several different collections for this year. The Lolla Classic collection is the basic collection with graphics from the festival, including a cloud with a lightning bolt and an ice cream cone. The Chicagoland Collection features graphics from the City, including the lion from the Art Institute of Chicago. The Chicago Sports Team Collaboration features festival graphics with sports team Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and new this year, the White Sox. Lolla also collaborated with labels, Aviator Nation and Camp Collection for merchandise.

You can get Lolla gear in three places: The Pop-Up shop on the Magnificent Mile, online, or at the Lolla shop at the festival set. You can also pre-order Lolla merch from Sidestep and pick it up at the festival.

I think the Chicago Sports collection is super cute with the added guitars in the logos. I also like in the Chicagoland Collection that the lion has on wristbands for the festival. I’ll definitely be hanging out in the air conditioned shop during the festival between sets.

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Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of “Acid Rap,” and while he asked his fans what their favorite song were on Twitter, I instantly thought of “Lost,” the song about a troubled relationship featuring Noname. This was a while ago, before Noname had “Telefone” and she was called Noname Gypsy.

“Lost” features the signature sound the Chance was known for during the Acid Rap era; this foggy vibe with drums that accompany his moan-like rap. It perfectly matched the melancholy of the song, which is basically about a “relationship” that only exist when they are high and trying to forget their problems. Whether involving drugs are not, we have all had those people that we only reach out to when we want to escape and isn’t based on anything else.

Chance said in an interview with Hannibal Burress that Noname’s verse is his favorite guest verse.

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“Behind The Lyrics,” Spotify’s feature that brings up facts and a deeper background to song lyrics, will now be on Android as well. Originally only available on iPhone when it was released in January 2016, this is the first time it was on Android.

I’m a huge fan of both Spotify and Genius. I love reading lyrics and getting to know random factoids about the song, the thought process of the lyrics, etc. Having that integrated while I’m actually playing the song is very convenient. I also love when artists give actual annotations to their song. To celebrate the expansion to Android, Khalid will add annotations to all of his track to his album “American Teen.”

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Festival season kicks off with Coachella this weekend and if you couldn’t grab tickets (money, them being sold out, not wanting to be in a desert) here is the streaming schedule for Coachella. All times are in PST time zone.

Acts that I’m trying to catch include Banks, Mac Miller, The xx, Travis Scott, Little Dragon, ScHool Boy Q, Bastille, Lady Gaga, Goldlink, and of course Kendrick who I’m pretty sure is releasing another album on Sunday.

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Billboard announced the nominees for 2017 Billboard Music Awards. Drake and Chainsmokers lead the nominations. While I wasn’t a fan of “Views,” I did like the song “One Dance” and I have to admit that Drake did well on the Billboard charts this year. Other highlights includes Beyonce and Rhianna.

Here are my picks for each category I’m familiar with. The only category that I did not vote for that I am familiar with was Best Rap Album because I did not love any of the choices.